'They don't give a damn' - Westport homeowner left with €102,000 pyrite bill

Oisín McGovern

ELECTED representatives in Mayo have been accused of abandoning pyrite victims after one woman was left with a €102,000 bill to rebuild her home.

Speaking exclusively to Mayo Live, Westport resident Linda Claxton said she will not be able to re-build her house, despite qualifying for the Government’s enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Grant scheme, also known as the pyrite redress scheme.

Hundreds of homes across Mayo have been affected by pyrite contamination, which causes building blocks to slowly disintegrate.

Despite being entitled to up to €420,000 to repair their properties under the enhanced redress scheme, many homeowners are still facing substantial rebuild costs.

Ms Claxton, who purchased her home in Páirc na Coille, Westport, from Mayo County Council in 2002, has been quoted over €296,000 to rebuild the house, which requires total demolition.

Under the new pyrite redress scheme, compensation is allocated at €2,045 per square metre of floor space for the first 180 square metres, with €1,250 applying for each additional square metre.

As her home is 94.54 square metres floor space, she will be entitled to €193,334.30 in compensation, leaving her with a shortfall of €102,666.

In addition, she could be liable for another €50,000 if the foundations are found to contain pyrite.

Under the previous redress scheme, homeowners in Mayo and Donegal were entitled 90 percent of the value of their property.

‘It’s not fair’

Fifty-three other houses the Pairc na Coille have are either confirmed or suspected to have pyrite.

“A lot of my neighbours have turned 50 this year. What kind of a mortgage are they going to get? They’re going to be in debt up to their eyeballs until the day they are put in the ground. That’s not fair. It really isn’t,” said Ms Claxton.

Ms Claxton said she has been offered a pause in her mortgage but has been told to keep re-paying the interest. She currently has €25,000 left to pay on her mortgage for her house, which was delivered through Mayo County Council and an approved housing body.

She automatically qualifies for the new pyrite redress scheme after being accepted onto the old scheme last October.

“When we [Pairc na Coille homeowners] bought these, they were in an affordable housing scheme because nobody in Westport could afford houses in Westport. We can’t afford to fix them now,” she said.

When she leaves her house so the building work can take place, she will be entitled to compensation towards rental accommodation plus storage costs. However, Ms Claxton says this will still leave her paying up to €600 a week while her house is being rebuilt.

She also fears she and her 13-year-old daughter will be unable to secure rental accommodation in the Westport area, where there are just a handful of properties available to rent.

“I just don’t know where it’s going to end. I really don’t. It’s actually heartbreaking,” she said.

“Could you image what it’s like to be standing outside watching your house being knocked down? It’s not going to be pretty. It’s not. Every memory I have in here is my kids, and it’s all going to be taken away. And the other 53 houses can say the exact same thing as me. They will feel the exact same way as me. It’s not fair.”

Stress

Barbara Clinton of North Mayo Pyrite Group said that many other pyrite-affected homeowners face unfeasible costs despite qualifying for the Government’s redress scheme. She added that SEAI funding for the installation of heat pumps and insulation is ‘not worth the paper it’s written on’.

“There’s no way €231,000 will build my house. No way. I know that,” she told Mayo Live.

Ms Clinton says that pyrite victims had been ‘abandoned’ by their local representatives.

“They don’t give a damn, Dara Calleary doesn’t give a damn, Michael Ring, none of them…absolutely none of them give a sh*t about us.

“The amount of stress that it’s causing… I don’t want to die, but I don’t want to be here, if that makes sense. I don’t want to be going through this,” she added.

TDs respond

When contacted by Mayo Live, Sinn Féin TD Rose Conway-Walsh said it was ‘shocking’ and ‘completely unacceptable’ that homeowners were facing such shortfalls under the pyrite redress scheme.

Deputy Conway Walsh said that negotiations are ongoing regarding the issues with the new pyrite redress scheme, which have been brought to the attention of Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien.

Responding to Mayo Live, Fine Gael TD Alan Dillon said he remained ‘steadfast in my unwavering support and relentless efforts to assist the residents of Mayo who have been deeply affected by the pyrite issue’.

Deputy Dillon said he has been in close communication with North Mayo Pyrite Group and Department of Housing officials regarding issues raised by pyrite-affected homeowners.

“My objective is to ensure a just and sustainable solution for all homeowners, regardless of their circumstances, enabling them to move forward and remediate their homes in a safe and enduring manner.”

Minister of State, Dara Calleary, TD, said he was working with homeowners regarding ‘specific issues’ relating to pyrite.

A new redress scheme is due to be launched at the end of the month.

“I have worked throughout the process to represent the views of homeowners in the design of the new scheme and many of their inputs have been taken on board,” said Minister Calleary.

Mayo County Council said that it was is ‘agreeable to people getting a mortgage payment break, and this will be assessed on a case-by-case basis’.

Mayo Live has yet to receive a reply from Deputy Michael Ring.